Stripped Stabilizer Link? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

ps4570 · 11th November 2008, 17:38

Hi all! I need some DIY help. I was trying to remove my rear stabilizer bar and found the nut (part 7 below) on the driver's side Stabilizer Link won't come off. The bolt rotates, but the nut doesn't budge. It feels like there is something stripped in the Stabilizer Link. There is also a lot of play in the link compared to the other side. I can get it to wiggle back and forth. The problem is between parts 6 and 7 in the diagram below.

Before I call uncle and take her into a mechanic, I thought I'd ask for suggestions here.

Thanks in advance!

Phil

m5 deamon · 11th November 2008, 18:01

you need to put a wrench on the inside of the link to keep it from spinning i think its a 15 or a 17 wrench then you will be able to lossen the nut

rneedham1979 · 11th November 2008, 22:54

what he said... LOL

ps4570 · 12th November 2008, 00:04

Sounds very obvious, but it sure wasn't last night.

I did notice a flat nut with rounded edges back there, seems like it had only two flat slides. I did put a wrench on it, but it seemed so different from what I was seeing on the passenger side, that I was scared to put too much force on the nut. I don't remember there being any room to put a wrench inside of the link on the unmoving passenger side. I'll need to make some time to look at it again.

Oh, what brought all this up is I replaced both sway bar brackets with aftermarket ones. I was having some fun driving hard and all of a sudden I started to get some wheel hop. I put the car up and found the OEM bracket on the driver's side had broken. I had planned to remove the sway bar during the replacement, but it wasn't necessary, and the sway bar seemed to be stuck or incorrectly attached to the stabilizer link on that side. Sigh, probably won't be able to get to it again until the weekend.